Patriots: Stephen Gostkowski gets kicks

Tuesday

Nov 13, 2012 at 6:00 AM

The Patriots had more problems than a Florida vote counter during their 37-31 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, but special teams weren't one of them. Kicker Stephen Gostkowski displayed poise and power, connecting on all three of his field goal attempts and posting touchbacks on six of his eight kickoffs.

By Rich Garven TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

The Patriots had more problems than a Florida vote counter during their 37-31 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, but special teams weren't one of them.

Kicker Stephen Gostkowski displayed poise and power, connecting on all three of his field goal attempts and posting touchbacks on six of his eight kickoffs.

He drilled a 3-pointer from 43 yards to give the Patriots a 3-0 lead in the first quarter and, with the pressure mounting as the clock wound down, connected from 48 and 27 yards in the fourth.

“During the game, I don't think about that stuff,” Gostkowski said. “I'm just trying to make one kick at a time and go straight from the kick to the kickoff. Other than that it's just — I'm kind of like a robot out there, I don't really show that much emotion.

“I don't really get into the game as much because if you experience so many highs and lows it's hard to focus on your job, and you only get one opportunity to go out there and kick. You need to remain focused as much as possible and not waste energy being a cheerleader on the sidelines.”

Gostkowski has made 20 of 23 field goals and put his early-season woes, when he missed three in a span of three games, behind him. His success rate of .870 would rank fifth in franchise history were the season to end today.

The seventh-year pro is second in the NFL in scoring with 93 points and is on pace to finish with 165. That would eclipse Gino Cappelletti's team record of 155 that has stood since 1964.

Gostkowski also had an impact by turning the dangerous Leodis McKelvin into a bystander. The Bills' ace kick returner, who ranks fifth in the league at 29.1 yards per runback, only got his hands on one kickoff as Gostkowski repeatedly boomed the ball deep into or out of the end zone.

McKelvin's one return went for 23 yards. Brad Smith also had one, which he brought back 13 yards.

“You just take what you can get,” said Gostkowski, whose 34 touchbacks are fourth in the league. “You aren't going to get many 60-degree days in November, so I take advantage of them and try to kick it deep and keep the ball out of their hands.”

While Gostkowski struggled in September, he never beat himself up over his slump. The key was to not lose confidence and to use practice as the reinforcement tool it's meant to be.

“It's tough to go out there and be perfect every time,” Gostkowski said. “Everybody makes mistakes, has bad plays and has bad kicks, so if that happens to me, I just think about all the ones I've done well. I don't over-think it, and I don't try to over-analyze it … a lot of it's about timing and all that stuff when you miss.

“It's just good to come through and get on a roll and get a little streak going and win a couple games. It's a lot more fun that way.”

As for punter Zoltan Mesko, he was called on twice and came through each time.

In the third quarter, Mesko had a nice situational punt from the Buffalo 38 that resulted in a fair catch by McKelvin, the league's leading punt returner with a 19.5 average, at his own 13.

In the fourth, he booted a 44-yarder from his own end zone that had good length and was high enough to force McKelvin into another fair catch. Mesko ranks 31st in the league in both gross (41.6) and net (36.3) average, but that's because he has mostly been called on to make situational kicks. He has dropped 19 punts inside the 20, which ranks fourth.